Life

I've never been much of a city-watcher. But then again, I've never lived on the 8th floor of a building overlooking a city 20 times bigger than the largest town I've lived in in the last 23 years. When I lived on the 5th floor of Summit (or Nutt, as I refuse to call it) at Tech for 3 years, I liked to look out those big windows and see what was happening on campus. Unless it was the 10 minutes between classes, I usually saw nothing of interest. Not here. Now, I enjoy standing on the balconey of my apartment or staring out my bedroom window and watching the city of Natal. I always see something interesting, from a soccer game to a couple fighting on the street to a campaign parade, as well as the occasional helicopter. As I stare out at the city I now call home, with its dark alleys, decorative apartment buildings, and beautiful people, my heart fills with thanksgiving, and I am in awe of the God of the impossible. The God who whispers words of love and redemption and hears and understands words of faith and praise in all languages. The God who has perfect plans for each of His children and loves them all equally and unconditionally. Yahweh. Our Creator. Our Father. Who brought me here to Natal, Brazil, for a reason I have yet to fully comprehend. As I take in the beauty of Natal and contemplate the mysteries of the divine, I am overcome by a sense of calm. Life is right.

What attracts you?

No, I don't want to know about your preference for blue eyes and a good heart. I actually want to know what attracts you to God? Why do you love Him? I've been pondering this since a conversation I had with a reader yesterday. For me, it began when I experienced God's love through His people as I was growing up. Today, while His love is still the foundation of my faith, it's also His consistency. He is the same today as He was 1000 years ago and as He will be in 1000 years. I never open the Bible and discover that He's not who I thought He was or that He's not who He portrayed Himself to be. He IS and He never changes (James 1:17). And His presence is constant as well. He never leaves me (Heb 13:5). The second I start to think He has, He shows me otherwise. Yes, God is the one constant in my life. And in an ever-changing, ever-decieving world, this is very Good News! And you, what attracts you to God?

Now, I'm sure you're wondering about that thought-provoking conversation. We were reading from Luke 12:23-31 about seeking God's kingdom. We started talking about what that means and why we should do it. Somehow, the question "What attracts you to God?" came up. His response was "Here (the church). You. These classes." Wow. How humbling is that? This person has been reading for a few months with several different Americans. He has visited the church many times, coming almost every week now. He also has studied the Bible in Portuguese with one of the missionaries. All because he saw something in the people he met at the church and through Let's Start Talking that attracted him to God. It seems that the love we, God's people, show to others greatly influences God's kingdom (as evidenced by pretty much the entire New Testament). This just drives home the point that we are God's representatives, His ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20). We can attract people or we can drive them away. What affect does your life have on people?

Great News!

A few posts ago, I introduced you to Francisco. He was an LST reader who decided to give his life to Christ and was baptized last month. He was so excited about his new Life that he went and told his good friend, Geraldo, about Jesus. Well, last night Geraldo also gave his life to Jesus. How beautiful! I, unfortunately, did not have my camera. To see pics and read a bit more of the story, click here read my roommates's blog.

Hopefully I will write many more posts like this one in the future!

I'm not fluent yet...

I'm learning Portuguese. It's a daily process. One that will continue every single day that I'm here. I have a lot to learn.

For example, in my last post I said that the theme of the retreat was, in English, "Defeating Giants." Well, after reading my roommate's blog (who is fluent in Portuguese), I realized that I was wrong. The theme, translated into my mother tongue, is "Facing Giants."

Just thought I'd let you know. :-)

Retreating Brasilian Style

This was a weekend of firsts. My first Brasilian retreat. My first Brasilian roadtrip. My first time to travel outside Natal. My first experience with the Brasilian birthday custom of breaking a giant balloon filled with candy (and flour, in this case).

Yes, it was a very fun, interesting, and tiring experience. We left bright and early at 5:30 a.m. on Friday and returned at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. It was an 8-hour roadtrip. We went by omnibus, which is like a cross between a church van and the economy section of an airplane, complete with DVD player. We only made two bathroom stops on the way there and one on the back. Chris Buxton, you would be proud. :)

The theme of the Retreat was Desafiando Gigantes, or Defeating Giants. The main text was taken from 1 Samuel 17. (I'll pause while you get out your Bible and read.) Even though everything was in Portugese and not much was translated, I understood a lot of what was said. Or I at least got the main idea. By Sunday morning though, I was so physically (from lack of sleep) and mentally (from trying to understand everything that was happening) exhausted that I could hardly force myself to listen to the message.

This weekend I did learn that Brasilian retreats are a lot like and a lot different from American ones. I can't exactly pinpoint all of the differences (except for the obvious language and meal differences) though. Sorry. A few things I noticed, though:
~We only had cold water for showers, and I didn't hear anyone complain.
~Brasilians are loud and very, very loving.
~Hammocks apparently make wonderful beds.
~Fun happened naturally.

So, as you can tell, Brasil and Brasilians are great! Here are some pictures so you can see it for yourself. God bless!




All the Natal girls


The whole Natal gang